From The Publisher: Like it or Not, the World has Gone Digital

The digital world has created some preconceived notions that are not always based on facts. I am a big believer in reducing paper records whenever possible, but like more than 60% of our readers I do not want to read a digital magazine. Reading one article in a digital format works for me, but not an entire magazine. Some advertisers see the benefits of a combined program comprised of both print and digital, but many will not entertain the idea of print advertising regardless of what readers prefer. 

There is no right or wrong answer on which is better, a print or digital magazine, nor can I say definitively which form of advertising is better. However, the reality is that it is extremely expensive to print and  mail a magazine. With rising costs, print revenue hasn’t come close to covering the cost to mail and  print our magazine for many years. Even with the generous support of our Excavation Safety Magazine  sponsors we cannot make the math work for a quarterly print magazine.  

To continue focusing on our mission of “saving lives through education & collaboration,” in 2024 we will switch to a hybrid model for getting our education and information out to stakeholders. We will print an annual edition of the Excavation Safety Magazine each fall and we will continue to print the Excavation Safety Guide (over 7,000,000 in print now) in the winter. While both publications have information which can help all stakeholder groups, the magazine is more geared towards facility owners and Notification Centers, while the Guide is aimed at helping contractors dig safely.  

We will keep providing a flow of great content all year long via the fantastic authors and speakers we have worked with over the past 20 years. We will also continue to seek out new subject matter experts on hot topics. This constant flow of new education will be featured in our regular blog. These articles will  also appear in our regular monthly newsletters and/or our ESA Member newsletter. It is free to become an ESA individual member by going to ExcavationSafetyAlliance.com/membership.  

At Excavation Safety Alliance (ESA), we are extremely focused on sharing solutions and tips that make excavation safer and prevent damage to cables and pipelines. As we hear during our ESA Town Halls and our conferences, the best solutions come from all of you. One of our primary goals is to be the resource that makes these ideas available to all stakeholders. Our annual print edition of the magazine will be sharing as many of these ideas and tips as possible, as well as covering hot topics that have become issues during the past year. You can be sure that you will receive the print edition of the magazine by subscribing at ExcavationSafetyAlliance.com/subscribe.